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With children across Swindon looking forward to week of messing about, playing outside and generally enjoying being off school, parents are being reminded of the healthcare options available to them should their little one have an accident or become ill.

The government is working with pharmaceutical companies, suppliers and the NHS to make sure patients continue to receive the medication they need after March 29, should the UK leave the European Union without an agreed continuity deal.

Swindon Clinical Commissioning Group fully understands that the recent problems some patients at some GP surgeries across the town have faced – particularly when trying to make appointments over the telephone – have been completely unacceptable.

Patient and Public Engagement

Mental Health Services for Veterans

The NHS England engagement on mental health services for veterans is now live and the survey and supporting information is here. The deadline for responses is 5pm on 31 March 2016.

NHS England welcome views from anyone who has an interest in veterans’ mental health and people can choose which section they wish to complete.

Overview

The NHS provides 12 mental health services across England specifically for veterans. They enable specialist staff to care for veterans with mental health needs, direct them to the most appropriate service and give them effective treatment. The services started in 2010 after publication of Fighting Fit: a mental health plan for servicemen and veterans, a report by former Surgeon-Commander, Dr Andrew Murrison MP. The report identified where the NHS needed to give extra support to veterans. See here for a list of the 12 services which include the veterans service provided by AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust).

Why NHS England are engaging

The contracts for most of these services are due to end in September 2016, and this gives NHS England an opportunity to ask what you think of them. What you say will help the NHS build on the strengths of the current mental health services for veterans and develop future services.

Who they want to hear from

The NHS wants to hear from anyone who has opinions to offer, and particularly from:

people who have served in the armed forces (whether as a reservist or regular) and have used or are currently using NHS veterans’ mental health services

family members and carers

staff and organisations that are providing mental health care, treatment and support for veterans and their families.

NHS England values your input and encourages you to give them your thoughts and experiences by filling in this questionnaire. It should only take you about 10 minutes to complete.

A hard copy engagement document including a detachable survey and free post envelope has been produced, along with a leaflet and poster. A limited number of these are available and if you would like to place an order, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

NHS England have arranged for the engagement document to be translated in to Nepalese to enable the involvement of the ex-Gurkha community and can be seen below.